ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Even in his 38th year in volleyball, Mid-Buchanan head coach Ron Underwood has a roster unlike any he’s ever seen. The Dragons finished 20-12-4 last year and narrowly lost to rival East Buchanan in the district championship. This year, they return every varsity player but one.
“First time I’ve probably had 11 returning varsity players,” Underwood said. “And five of them last year with postseason honors. It’s just a really talented, experienced, fun group and it’s pretty easy to get excited about that.”
Senior captains Camryn Atha, Bailey Coman and Myia Dillman lead the returners. All three received All-District and All-Conference honors this past season as they dominated before injuries derailed their season.
“We want to be at the top, we want to win,” Atha said. “We got a lot of competition but I think we could have great success. We just got to keep working.”
Atha returns as one of the team’s outside hitters, a position the Dragons have locked down with two of the best in the state. The high-flying Atha was second on the team in kills per set before missing half the year with an injury. Four-year varsity player Bailey Coman roams beside her as Mid-Buchanan’s middle hitter and was second on the team in kills and blocks. The two seniors are paired with one of the best athletes in the area in Dillman. Dillman returns to her position as setter, where she recorded 877 assists last year.
“We have played a lot of volleyball together,” Dillman said. “So we’re not really having to learn a lot about each other so we’re always connecting.”
The three seniors lead the way but bring back one of the best volleyball players in the state to be their running mate. Junior Tatum Moss returns after leading the team in kills and digs by a wide margin. Moss received unanimous first-team All-Conference and All-District honors before being named to the Class 2 All-State team. The leap between sophomore and junior year is historically one of the biggest for high school athletes. It’s hard to imagine what a step up would look like after last year’s campaign, but Moss looks to take another one after establishing herself as one of Missouri’s top players in Class 2 as an underclassman.
“I get asked, ‘what’s a dream team?’” Underwood said. “For me, and I told these guys that, I said ‘a dream team to me is five players with 250 to 350 kills apiece, everybody hits .280 or better. And I don’t see why that can’t happen this year. They don’t care who gets the kill, it’s so fun to watch that.’”
What is already a star-studded cast is made even better by depth. The Dragons return junior and second-team All-District selection Myla Flinn along with sophomores Camilia Mejia and Bentley Barton, both of whom received significant varsity time last season.
With so much depth, Underwood looks to run a rotation with nine players. Through it all, the starters are made that much better by going against second- and third-stringers in practice, as many of them have the talent to start.
“They know,” Underwood said of the depth and what that means to the younger players. “Everybody will have their day.”
Returning that much talent means a lot of the focus will be on Mid-Buchanan this year. A group that has seen a lot of success in seasons past will look for more as it likely gets every opponent’s best shot.
“We definitely have a target on our back this year,” Dillman said. “But we also have opponents that have targets on their back that we’re kind of after this year. We just wish for a better season, hopefully to go to state.”
For Mid-Buchanan, expectations are high after seeing how much the group accomplished last season, even through adversity. With so much talent returning, the Dragons have their sights set on playing as late into the season as possible. With the MSHSAA State Volleyball Tournament being held at Civic Arena in St. Joseph, the group has a unique opportunity to chase that goal close to home.
“I really want to go all the way with my friends to state this year,” Coman said. “Definitely just do well. I know that it’s way easier said than done and we have a lot of good (competition) around. But definitely all the way with these girls.”
Even entering his 38th year, Underwood is still seeing plenty of firsts with this group.
“Usually you start at a place and throughout the year you get a little higher and then you have your finishing place, then you go down a little in the offseason and you start again,” Underwood said. “This is probably the best starting place that we’ve ever been.”